


So long and thanks for all the booze

by runaway_killjoy



Category: All Time Low
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 20:12:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3353789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runaway_killjoy/pseuds/runaway_killjoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack has spent the past two years in and out of rehab. He's out again, determined this time to stay out. His friends and family don't believe him but now he has a reason to stay clean. Jealousy and temptation leave hurdles but with Alex's help, Jack believes he may be able to get his life together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So long and thanks for all the booze

The bus lurches to an awkward half stop again as the lights go orange. The girl beside me knocks into me, pushing her boobs into my back. I stand still in case I move my arm and accidentally grab them, that wouldn’t go down too well.  
The bus quivers a bit, waiting for the lights to go green, and I take the chance to peer out at the streets of my old town. Of course I’m moving in now to a different part to where I grew up, but my plan to get out of here was kinda fucked up.  
The bus jumps forward again randomly and I whack my mangina off the bar in the middle of the bus, “fuck,” I moan and jump back bending over, rubbing off the big boobed girl behind me.  
“Fuck off!” she squeals and I realise a little late it looks like I’m trying to grind on her. I jump up straight, still in pain to apologise but I’m still holding where I hit it off the bar. She looks disgusted and slaps me really hard before storming off to the other side of the bus. Everyone scowls at me for the rest of the journey.  
I press the stop button five blocks away from my new apartment. I don’t think I want to stay in the bus of middle aged women whispering “pervert” at me any longer. I pull my bags down and step out into the street. Google maps says fifteen minutes to the apartment block from here. The place is almost deserted except for a load of people walking in and out of the target. It’s Valentine’s Day so they’re probably buying condoms. I’d forget that that holiday is today except that everywhere I go is covered in pink and red hearts. Even the clinic was covered in them.  
I walk down the lane between the target and a bar called “Maher’s” which I assume is an Irish bar. A good thing I don’t drink anymore or I might have stopped there on my way…  
The lane has space for one car and a shit-ton of dumpsters. I walk down, right past the target car park and onto a new street on the other side. I used to have a friend who lived up this way but I doubt he lives here now.  
I walk another two blocks, passing three Starbucks’s and eight McDonald’s in total. What a time to be alive. It’s been fifteen minutes and I’m still two blocks away. Fuck you google maps. I keep going, looking out for things that help me tell that I’m on the right track. A bronze statue of a man that looks like he’s jerking off tells me I’m only a block way.  
Two McDonald’s later I’m faced with two apartment blocks, side by side, that look the exact same. I make awkward eye contact with some woman who’s walking toward the same building as me but from the opposite direction. She’s carrying a grocery bag with a bottle of wine peeking out the top. Valentine’s Day. I take the steps up to the door of the first building and type in the code the landlord gave me, 1244. The door opens so this must be the right one. The woman is walking up the steps behind me so I hold open the door for her. She smiles and nods and then her eyes lock on my t-shirt.  
“Um, thanks,” she says plainly, still looking at my top. Not the first person in this town to dislike my Boner shirts. We walk awkwardly over to the elevator. “What floor?” she asks dryly as we stand in the small metal box, squashed by my bags.  
“Four,” I smile awkwardly.  
“Oh same floor as me then,” she says, again very dryly.  
“I’m moving in to 4A,” I say moving my big shoulder bag into a more comfortable place.  
“Oh, are you new here?”  
“No, I’ve always lived here, just not here.” She looks weirdly at me, “I lived at the other side of town.”  
“Why did you move?”  
“Couldn’t live with my parents forever,” I grin. She doesn’t reciprocate. “Uh, I wanted to try get out of this town but it backfired so now I’m here.” This is kinda true. I did try and get out of this town and my life did backfire. I was drinking, a lot. So two years ago my parents were sick of me being never sober and at age twenty two still living with them so they sent me to rehab. Rehab sucked. I got out after four months only to slip straight back in to drinking all the time. This time my friends had an intervention thing and sent me to another rehab. My friend’s girlfriend is a therapist and works with all those networks so I got my ass stuck there for nine months. Got out, fucked up, sent back for another six months. I don’t want to go back.  
“You sound like my boyfriend,” she smiles a little, “always saying he hates this town.”  
“Pop punk.”  
“What?” the elevator doors open and I drag all my bags out behind the girl.  
“Nice to meet you…”  
“Jack. Barakat.”  
“Stella.”  
“Nice to meet you Stella,” I unlock my door and shove all my bags in. I see the door across the way opened from the inside by a guy with a random bit of pink in his hair. Stella kisses him and walks in behind him, chattering about half price wine. I close my door before my staring gets weird.

I unpack all my stuff pretty quickly, probably because I don’t have much. I sit on my new couch and order a pizza while looking through the channels wondering if I have to pay more for porn.  
I jump up when there’s a knock on the door and fumble with the remote to turn it from porn to something pg. I answer the door with the discovery channel on in the background. I was expecting the pizza guy but little bit of pink hair dude is there instead.  
“Um hi?”  
“Hey, your fly is down,” he points out smiling, “my name’s Alexander William and I live across the hall, you met my girlfriend Stella?  
“I did,” I pull up my zip. Now it looks like I was jerking off to some nature programme, great. “My name’s Jack.”  
“Short for anything?” Alexander William says with a weird twinkle in his eyes.  
“Nothing about me’s short,” I say mock defensively. Alexander William grins.  
“Call me Alex, my name is the only the only thing that’s short.” We grin at each other for a second before the elevator opens revealing a guy holding a pizza box.  
“Awh baby,” I grunt when I see it. The pizza dude looks awkward as he approaches then. I pay him and he leaves really quickly.  
“Pizza, you’re so lucky,” Alex looks over at his door.  
“Do you want some?” I don’t want to share but best not to be an asshole straight away.  
“No it’s cool,” he looks over his shoulder again, “my girlfriend wants to force feed me crab or something.”  
“You’re missing out. Valentine’s day is a day for the three P’s: Pizza, porn and pe-”  
“Alex,” Stella appears in his door way. “The sauce is off, time to eat.”  
“I need to go. Hope the third p wasn’t pants because I don’t want them on today,” he grins, “see you around.”  
“See you,” I grin back.  
Inside my pizza is still really hot and I burn my tongue on it. The porn I was watching is over and now some reality TV show where all the girls have massive boobs and bleached hair is on. Apparently Stacey’s a bitch and everyone knows she got a nose job.  
It’s weird going to sleep in a not grey room. With curtains. And no guy snoring above me. I bet I’m one of the very few people not getting laid in this building tonight but whatever. The porn was good. I’m just happy to be out of the clinic.  
 

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is dedicated to my friend Niamh who only reads Jalex fan fiction.  
> It's been too long since i'd written anything that isn't for school so i'm excited to write again :))) the first chapter is only a pilot tbh, that's why it's short. I think i will continue with this but let me know what you think and i'll update as soon as i can! :3 xoxo


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